a collection of words about God and life and art and baseball and football and hope and my family and my ministry and music and the immense joy in each moment of all of it. it's a record of being human. welcome.

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constant movement

seasons change. by definition, that's what they do. they are reminders that life, ever beyond our control, is in a constant state of movement, from what is known to what is unknown. the weather itself is a sometimes wondrous, and sometimes terrifying reminder that we are not as strong as we think we are (those words written with an affectionate nod at the late, great rich mullins). but it is in the midst of those in-between times, as one season spins its slow descent into a new one, that i recognize the constant movement of life.

of course, as aliens in a new land (for that is what we are, even with the incredible hospitality of the good folks of state college, pa), the concept of constant change is nothing to our family. we are living exhibits of the seasonal nature of life. just as the colors on tussey mountain, which sits regally, enthroned in a wide sky, and gloriously visible from our back door, are starting to rust to more earthy hues, and as the morning air greets me each morning with a whisper of a new story, life itself is new all the time - every morning!

but in the midst of new grocery stores, new restaurants, new neighbors, and new places in the fridge for shannon to hide the mint jelly; and in the midst of new seasons, new schools and new spaces to park in; i discover that we are still us, with the same fingerprints, the same names, and the same warm love. each season brings its new gifts, along with many new challenges, but it is the same us who journeys through, and the same God who journeys with, whose mercies are new every morning.

may you be reminded, as the morning dew starts crystallizing into fractal webs on the pumpkins on the porch, and as you dig out the coats from the back of the closet, that even if you are a stranger in a strange land; or a pilgrim just passing through; there is a Sojourner who never leaves. God is constantly doing a new thing; constantly surprising us with unthinkable love; and constantly rewriting our messes into glorious endings; but never turns from a relentless, steady and stalwart love for us.

seasons change. the rain may come. the winds may blow, and the air may bite with cold. the sky may darken and put on its gray winter coat. we may not be nearly as strong as we think we are. but God is. and that never changes.

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